Happy National Quilting Day

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

To Celebrate, I have gone through and added about 20 quilt patterns to the Tula Pink Free Patterns Section and the FreeSpirit Free patterns section!

I’ve been busy sewing up a storm these past few months. Some things I can show off, some I can’t yet.

Jurassic party featuring Roar! by Tula Pink for Freespirit Fabrics

My Roar quilt has returned from its world tour! She’s been hanging at international quilt markets and making the rounds to quilt shops across North America. Roar is still my favorite fabric line!

As you may have noticed, I have taken the plunge into bag making! Stacie Wilson of Troll Brothers Quilt Shop sent me a box of gorgeous colorshift vinyl to play with, and I have been making all the things! My Annette Handbag and Commuter Tote feature the vinyl handles and side panels.

Annette Handbag featuring Moon Garden by Tula Pink for FreeSpirit Fabrics

My Hissy Fit handbag is my daily go-to handbag. This is one of my favorite prints from Moon Garden. I am a reptile fan, and finally having Tula Pink make a snake print made me giddy with joy. I take this bag everywhere!

The pattern and hardware for my Annette came from Emmaline Bags. In Fact, every bag I have ever made has Emmaline’s Hardware. Its top notch hardware from right here in Canada!

In my box of vinyl was this deep yellow that I wasn’t quite sure what to do with. A little brainstorming with the kids, and my Pikachu backpack was born! I designed the face and ears myself, and used the Lindsport Mini Backpack as the body of the bag.

The Sweetpea Saddle Bag is a free pattern from BlueCalla. I love their bags as well, and have made a few. I was testing out the denim lookaline for Troll Brothers. Its got a water resistant backing and a denim look without actually being denim. The main flap was a generous donation of original Tula Pink Prince Charming frogs from a friend that I pieced together into a whole frog. It’s stunning with the bright gold hardware, and the perfect size when I just need the basics.

Lastly, I have this gorgeous duo! I was thrilled to be invited as a special guest into teh FreeSpirit Circle of Makers in November. I got to play with Club Hauer’s newest line, Costumes & Cobwebs. The whole line is gorgeous! I was sent this spooktacular cat and owl print, and the frightfully gorgeous Venus Eye Traps, as well as a handful of blender prints from the collection. The second I opened the box, I knew I absolutely needed to make a bag to show them off! I used the Aster Handbag from Blue Calla for the bag, and the Necessary Clutch Wallet from Emmaline Bags for the wallet. The two pair together brilliantly. I also pulled out some Italian leather that’s been waiting for just the right project.

Happy Stitching!

5Oct2024

Wild Heart Pattern release

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

Surprise!

Today is the day! I and thrilled to announce that my heart quilt, Wild Heart, is finally ready!

Wild Heart is a reimagining of my original design, Home is Where the Heart Is, which was published in AQ Magazine all the way back in January 2019. Since it’s initial debut, I have taught this quilt class a number of times, and each time I made notes on how to improve the instructions and construction. I have also made several versions of this quilt digitally and in person. Still, it wasn’t until Tula Pink unveiled her Untamed fabric line that I was truly inspired to finish this pattern, and make it available for everyone.

Untamed spoke to me- a riot of colorful blooms and patterns coming together to create something wonderful. Immediately realized that it would be perfect for my heart quilt. It also inspired the name change. More than ever lately I have been feeling free to live my most authentic life, a little bit wild, a little bit untamed, living in full color as much as possible. I have been travelling more; for quilting and just for fun. I feel more confident in my own skin and taking up space. Some hearts are meant to be free, and that is what this new quilt embodies – the adventure and freedom to live how you want.

Wild Heart is now live in my new Etsy shop alongside the ever-popular Starlines and Zinnia. The pattern includes all the templates and instructions needed to make your own version of Wild Heart. Untamed fabric is shipping local quilt shops this month. I cannot wait to see what fabrics you chose to make you own Wild Heart!

Happy Stitching,

13Aug2024

Pattern Catch Up -Besties by Tula Pink!

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

Good morning my quilty friends! I am currently playing catchup with my free pattern library, so we will start with the earliest new patterns and work our way forward!

Tula Pink’s fabric line, Besties, is currently live in shops, so I thought I should probably (finally!) share the fun patterns I designed for the collection.

Besties is a vibrant colorful line with lots of gold accents. My favorite prints are the bunnies and the goldfish, even though as a family we lean heavily into the crazy cat people category. Besties has some great small scale and blender prints (hearts and turtles and hamsters, oh my!) to round it out.

The first thing that comes to mind with best friends for me is, of course, the classic friendship bracelet. I spent summers travelling with my family, and during those long drives I often passed the time making friendship bracelets. My best find at the book fair in middle school was a book of 15 totally awesome NEW designs! I practiced and practiced to master each and every one of them. I still remember the fish eye design taking me eons to finish. I wanted to bring that nostalgia to this quilt.

The feature print for this collection is a delightful menagerie of different poochy pals. These good puppers (11/10, the bestest!) deserved a quilt all their own. And what do dogs dream about? I assume food LOL. I had a lot of fun imagining a good boi snoring away with dancing bones floating through its head. Say woof to Doggy Daydreams!

Who else loves those videos of pets travelling to exotic locations with their people? Who would you want to being with you on a whirlwind adventure? Your bestie of course! Thus, Besties Road Trip is an ode to all those besties (furry or otherwise) you would 100% go on a trip around the world with!

Each of these three patterns is free on the FreeSpirit website, and available to download by clicking the blue linky title under each image.

My final quilt to share with this collection is one of my favorites. Most of my designs for this collection are reminiscent of my childhood. Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s friendship charms were all the rage, especially at my school/within my friend group. We swapped those half heart necklaces like currency and made friendship bracelets from anything we could weave into them!

My favorite quilt for this entire collection is – Best Friends Forever! I wanted to try and recreate the split heart friendship charms we used to swap, and that Tula oh so accurately featured in fabric and metallics. This quilt was published in the January 2024 issue of AQ Magazine. You can still find yourself a copy HERE.

Happy Stitching Besties!

7Jul2024

Announcing some Big Changes

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

Good morning to my SiS family.

I am making some big changes in the coming months. After much deliberation and struggling, I have decided to slow down with my quilting. So what does that mean for the website, exactly?

I will still publish blog posts and post content much the same as I always have, however the shop portion of my webpage will be closed down. I will not be offering any published patterns. Juggling a full time job, raising some rapidly growing children, and maintaining a business had grown to be too much for one person. Taking a step back from the self-publications is a way for me to maintain a healthy work/life balance.

I will continue to create new things and design patterns for AQ Magazine and different fabric designers – that is the aspect of quilting that I love. I will still post my free patterns and share my creations with you. I am still available for teaching and lectures. Only the e-commerce portion of Stacey in Stitches will disappear.

As I am not particularly tech savvy when it comes to programming and website design, there is going to be some trial and error and I figure out how to reel things in without completely crashing the website. So please, if you come for a visit and things are down, be patient. I will have the website up and running like it used to after some trial and error.

I want to thank everyone for their love and support these past 11 years and counting. I cannot believe how far we have come together! I am looking forward to continuing to create and share my work with your, and please keep sending me your pictures and makes, its something I truly enjoy!

For always and ever, happy stitching!

23Sep2023

Tula Pink DejaVu – Nightshade edition

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

Today I will be introducing you to my lineup of patterns for the Nightshade Deja Vu collection by Tula Pink. The original Nightshade is one of the most highly sought after out of print (OOP) collections. The Deja Vu line features more colorization, brighter fabrics, two new scales and a new print!

I loves the vibrant hues in Nightshade Deja Vu. The spider blossom print is my absolute favorite of the collection. I briefly lived in a heritage home that was 100+ years old. The scaled down prints were reminiscent of the carpet in that house. It was large, and empty, and for a time I lived completely alone in it. I had so many ideas, and a story started to play out in my designs.

I imagined some dark, lonely heroine wandering the halls of a large, rambling manor, searching for secrets and avoiding the ghosts of their past. Walking the same halls day after day, wearing a path through the ancient flooring.

The heroine finds themselves in a lost, forgotten corner of the library. Amongst the webbed and dusty tomes, one seems to glow with an inner light. Reaching out, trancelike, the brush of warm pebbled leather awakens a matching glow within their chest, waking the magic inside.

As the magic wakes, our heroine finds herself immersed in a new world of color and light, imbued and overlaid upon both the animate and inanimate. With this newfound sight, they make new discoveries that only help them grow their power.

In a forgotten cellar room, hidden under the rotting floor, a journal is found. Written by a long forgotten ancestor, it tells the story of three sisters, all gifted with powers. as our heroine dives deeper into the mysterious past, they realize they are the last remaining descendant of these sisters.

Only time will tell whether this power is a blessing….or a curse.

I hope you enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed making these quilts.

Until next time dear readers,

Happy Stitching!

3Jul2023

New Stacey in Stitches Pattern

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

Today is the day!

Delphinium is off to the printers! That means I can officially open pre-orders. Delphinium is an 8.5×11 full color booklet.

I taught Delphinium at the Petting Fabrics retreat this past April, and it was a huge hit. The quilters did an amazing job with their fussy cutting and piecing. The kits were a collaborative effort between Georgina and myself, and I love how they turned out.

This was my sample quilt, now in its new home at Petting Fabrics. I used a combination of Wallflower, Redux, and Spectrastic fabrics by Giucy Giuce for Andover.

The other two kits were the Moon Garden versions, seen below. One in the Dusk colorway and one in Dawn.

I LOVE Delphinium, and plan on making it again. Its the perfect pattern for large scale print fussy cutting, and the Y-seams are large and easy to sew. You get a little bit of everything with this one.

Pre-orders for Delphinium booklets are now open, with delivery expected the last week of July. For wholesale order, please use my new contact form found on the main menu bar.

Thank you, and Happy Stitching!

7Jun2023

Its Free Pattern day!

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

Happy day to you all!

I have some new free patterns available with the release of Tula Pink’s latest line ; Everglow!

Everglow is a neon lovers dream, with 4 new feature prints and 8 electrifying colorways. I have three patterns for the line, and I had so much fun designing to feature each of the elements in the line. Hippos, giraffes, lions and elephants take center stage in this whimsical collection. My favorite print is the Lion, and I love the orange/green colorways that go with it. My close second is the hippo. The small details, like the birds and the body shadows under the water really bring the print to life.

Now, on to the quilts!

First up is Sparkler. This quilt features fussy cutting and precision piecing to create a block exploding with color. I wanted the animal prints to really stand out. My inspiration for this quilt was fireworks. I love how bright and loud they are, and how fireworks spark joy for those who watch. I wanted the same feeling in this quilt. I love how the supporting stripes, dots, and fairy flakes bring the center star to life around the print.

Next, I wanted to use the supporting prints – pom pom, stripes and fairy flakes – as the feature, especially those stripes! They are bold and eye catching, and there’s so much you can do with them to create visual interest in a quilt. With that in mind, I went about playing with blocks and layouts to create Stained Glass. The quilt is stunning, and the construction is deceptively simple – its the same block in 8 different colors! the same print in each section of the block, and the layout does all the work. I highly recommend this quilt for any skill level-beginner to advance!

Last but not least, there is High Voltage. This IS an advanced skill level (you know me, there’s one in every collection!) I wanted a quilt that looked fast, like electricity or lightning, to match the feel of the neon prints. Like argon through a glass tube to create bright light.

You can find each of these patterns in the Projects section of the FreeSpirit Fabrics Website.

Which would you make?

15Dec2022

Starlines Errata

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

Good evening quilty friends! There is an error in the Starlines quilt pattern. If you purchased this before Dec 15, 2022 please note the following:

The White with Black Dots yardage for the Border Units should be 1 5/8 yards. This has been updated in version 1.1. I you purchased the PDF you can redownload the updated pattern. If you purchased the paper pattern, please make the note on the fabric requirements on the back cover. Thank you!

1Sep2022

Sample Sale Announcement

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

Good Morning my Stitching friends!

I have a big announcement today; I am officially having a sample sale! AKA: Stacey Ran Out Of Room And Has More Quilts To Make So Needs To Make Room Quilt Adoption Sale!

I will be listing quilts this week, and the sale will go live Sunday morning. There will be Finished quilts from my book, Child’s Play Quilts, quilts I have made just for fun, and some from the first unpublished book. There will also be a small selection of Work In Progress (WIP) quilts. Some WIPs may be flimsy tops only, some might be quilted but need binding.

The prices will vary. I thought long and hard about the pricing models for these. Some take a lot more time, some take a lot more fabric. I have taken many things into account, and have settled on only charging for the cost of materials. For many of these samples my labor has been paid already, and I really want my quilts to find their forever homes. I am one of those maybe-not-so-strange-after-all people that tends to personify their art, and I know that each quilt has its perfect home, and have been ready to find them for a while. I have a hard time letting go.

I started off small in one of my Facebook groups, and I am feeling ready to start the quilt adoptions! I know that my own mental health and creativity is tied in with my stash of fabrics and quilts, and the sheer number has gotten overwhelming, to the point that I feel it affecting my sewing.

Thank you to everyone who has been following along and supporting me over the years. I am excited to me moving forward and making room for new quilts.

12Jul2022

You asked, I answered. PDF patterns now available!

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

That’s right! All of my patterns will now be available as a PDF download.

Additionally, the Kaleidoscope pattern now has optional PDF templates and foundations to download. The kaleidoscope templates are quite large, and having them enlarged is a bit of a hassle. That’s not what I want for my patterns at all! So, so address the enlargement issues, the paper version of the pattern will have the option to download the templates in larger format paper to print at home. For those who have already purchased the pattern, I will add the download option to your order.

If you purchased from me at Heritage Festival of Quilts, please contact me directly.

Thank you everyone for your support. I have some new patterns coming this month that I cannot wait to share with you!